(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the packaging of articles and, particularly, to the formation of cigarette packages by successively folding inner and outer wrappers around pre-formed blocks of cigarettes. More specifically, this invention is directed to apparatus which forms a package by folding an outer wrapper about an article wrapped in a resilient inner wrapper and especially to apparatus which permits formation of such a package using, for the inner wrapper, a metalized foil material which has a tendency to return to its original sheet-like form when released by mechanical folding members of the packaging apparatus. Accordingly, the general object of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
While not limited thereto in its utility, the present invention is particularly well suited for use in apparatus known in the art as "bottom-folding packers" which are employed in the packaging of cigarettes. Such apparatus are characterized by a wrapping turret having plural hollow mandrels located in a geometric pattern, a star arrangement for example. Pre-formed blocks of cigarettes are disposed in the mandrels while inner and outer wrappers are folded thereabout. The wrapping turret will be driven, in step-wise fashion, with the steps comprising the spacing between wrapper folding stations. The apparatus is further comprised of feed devices for supplying both inner and outer wrappers, typically in sheet form, and stationery and moveable folding members for folding the inner wrapper around a mandrel and then for subsequently folding the outer wrapper around the folded inner wrapper.
A "bottom-folding packer" of the type briefly described above, for producing so-called soft packs, is disclosed in published German patent application No. 3,046,063 and WO-80-00246. In the prior art apparatus, the inner wrapper has customarily been comprised of a laminate consisting of a paper coated with aluminum foil. In spite of the fact that the prior art bottom-folding packers do not produce sharp creases when the foil-coated paper is formed around the mandrel, the wrapper is nevertheless sufficiently deformed so that it generally retains its folded shape when released by the folding members of the packer. Such release of the inner wrapper is, of course, necessary in order to permit the addition of the outer wrapper to the partially formed package.
The prior art inner wrapper materials are, when compared to metalized film, relatively expensive. It has, accordingly, for some time been desired to devise a manner in which a package having inner and outer wrappers could be formed employing a metalized film as the inner wrapper. Such efforts have previously been unsuccessful due to the fact that the metalized film is somewhat resilient and thus has a tendency to return to its original form when released by the mechanical folding members of the packer, i.e., unless mechanically restrained, the inner wrapper will spring away from the mandrel or other object about which it has been folded.